


First and Last

by Faithxoxo



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: DJWifi, F/M, LadyNoir - Freeform, Romance, adrienette - Freeform, and she loves him, but he loves his lady, gabriel is not a completely shitty dad, let these kids be happy, love square, my cat son is forgetful
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2019-03-13 21:37:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13579413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faithxoxo/pseuds/Faithxoxo
Summary: It started slowly at first, if he was being completely honest, Adrien didn’t even realize it was happening.The first time it happened, he was just busy.The second time, well, he had no excuse.He didn't keep track after, because his life became so hectic he just didn't have the time.It was so easy to forget his Lady wasn't invincible, that she needed him as much as he needed her.The last time, he promised he'd never leave her side again.He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.





	First and Last

**Author's Note:**

> Hello hello my loves, I'm back with another ML oneshot even though I should be doing homework, but I was feeling inspired and homework is boring, so...priorities:) Anyway, this one's pretty long, and it kind of dives in crack territory a little but I wanted to make it half-funny half-angsty. There's a good bit of fluff in there though, do don't worry! I love my cat son and my bug daughter, and I want them to be happy damn it. I'm also craving a reveal scenario, and for some reason this popped into my head. Both these kids are probably super busy, so I started thinking that since Chat Noir doesn't technically have to be on sight for each Akuma attack since Ladybug's the one who purifies them, he might start taking that for granted. Not purposefully, because my cat son is as pure as they come, but it must get hard juggling all that stuff and sometimes you just want to sleep more than you want to fight bad guys. Anyway, that's my pitch. On with the story! Feel free to leave a comment and enjoy xoxo

* * *

It started slowly at first, if he was being completely honest, Adrien didn’t even realize it was happening.

In his defense, he was busy as hell. He barely had time to _shower_ , much less turn into a leather-clad superhero and save Paris. Sue him for being forgetful.

It didn’t help that he ran on four hours of sleep, five if he was lucky.

The first time, Adrien was deep into writing a paper and didn’t notice it when Nathalie came in and told him lights out. He printed out his paper, proud of himself for finishing it despite the fact that he was brain-dead, and crawled into bed still wearing his shoes.

The next morning he woke up, showered, and realized as he was eating breakfast that he’d missed patrol the night before.

His fork clattered as it hit his plate. Well.

Ah, shit.

He made it a point to transform and check his voicemails as soon as he got the chance, finishing the last of his oatmeal, he shouldered his bag and left with a wave aimed in his father’s general direction. The man had actually left his study long enough to eat breakfast with him.

Adrien had been shocked silent for exactly eight seconds, before he’d begun talking his father’s ear off about anything and everything because this was a once a month _oppurrtunity_. He was going to take full advantage.

By the time breakfast was done, his father told him he was unhealthily obsessed with Sailor Moon and should seek counseling. Adrien said he was fully willing to go if his dad paid for it and carved out the time in his schedule.

Naturally, the idea fell through.

Adrien waved as his chauffeur dropped him off at school and met up with Nino on the front steps. He slunk off to the bathroom and yelled at Plagg for a good minute about letting him forget about patrol the night before.

Plagg raised an eye-ridge, munching on some cheese. “You were typing on that metal box.”

“It’s a computer,” Adrien groaned. “And you could have reminded me after!”

“You mean at one in the morning when you fell off your chair and yelled ‘success’ loud enough for the people in Italy to hear?”

Adrien pointedly did not answer for five minutes. “I didn’t fall,” He muttered once he’d stopped sulking. “I attacked the floor.”

“Poor floor, what did it ever do to you?” Plagg cackled.

“I hope you choke on your cheese,” Adrien grumbled. “Come on, class is starting.”

Adrien had a photoshoot at lunch, barely managing to scarf down some salad before his driver picked him up. He also managed to hand in his paper and get an A+ on his Physics exam, so even starvation wasn’t bad enough to dull his good mood.

He had to continue the photoshoot after school, which wasn’t as painfully boring as he thought it’d be because Nathalie yelled at the photographer several times for being incompetent, which was entertaining. Adrien felt bad, but he laughed more than he felt bad, and then he felt bad for not feeling bad about laughing.

And then that evening, for some cosmic reason that Adrien wasn’t going to question, his father dragged himself out of whatever hole he vanished to and ate supper with him. Adrien almost choked on a piece of kale.

His father stopped sipping his wine to look at him in vague concern, “Adrien, are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” He wasn’t going to question, he was just going to be thankful. So thankful. Because when his father drank, he loosened up, and Adrien told Nathalie to keep the Chardonnay coming. He even sneaked some himself.

Supper ended with a heated debate over which anime was better, Death Note or Naruto. His father hated Sasuke with a passion, and Adrien found himself nodding along even though he loved the character.

He went to bed that night with a big smile on his face, homework left untouched on his desk, and Plagg had to direct him because he kept walking into walls. Maybe that third glass of Chardonnay had been a bad call on his part.

In all the excitement of his father finally acknowledging his existence, Adrien forgot to transform and check his voicemails.

It was the first time, but not the last. Adrien felt like a shitty human being, something he hadn’t thought could be possible.

He told Nino the next day, “I’m a shitty human being.”

Nino’s eyes went wide in horror, “Dude.” His friend touched him on the arm, “Don’t say that. If you’re a shitty person than the rest of us are fucked.”

“Who’s fucked?” Alya asked, sitting at their picnic table. Astonishingly, Marinette wasn’t with her. Adrien felt disappointed and didn’t know why. Maybe because Marinette was the only one who got his Voltron references.

“All of us,” Nino said. He offered her half his sandwich, as was custom. Adrien didn’t know which rulebook Nino was reading, but apparently couples were always supposed to share meals. He stuck to this rulebook religiously.

“Adrien,” Nino pointed at him. “Said he’s a bad person.”

Alya practically flew across the table, “My poor sunshine child, how dare you doubt yourself.” She said, petting his hair like a horrified mother. Adrien found himself leaning in closer and blamed Plagg for the cat-like reaction, he blamed Plagg for a lot of things.

_“Netflix isn’t working, I blame you.”_

_“I can’t find my phone, Plagg, did you eat it?”_

_“I have a pimple! I can’t have pimples! Plagg, why have you disfigured me!”_

_“Global warming is up, why are you killing the planet, Plagg?”_

Okay, so maybe not everything in the world was Plagg’s fault, but Adrien liked to think it was. If only so he could confiscate Plagg’s Camembert and watch the kwami wail in despair as he was forced to eat Swiss.

“You are not a bad person.” Alya began humming, it was very soothing. “You are what we all aspire to be, Adrien Agreste. You are a precious cinnamon roll and we are not worthy of you.”

Adrien peered up at her, “I think you worship me too much.”

“No such thing,” Alya said.

Adrien didn’t disagree, only because he didn’t want her to stop petting him. “Nino, your girlfriend scares me.”

“Yeah, she scares me to.” Nino popped open a container and held out a strawberry, “Do you want one?”

Adrien was torn between stealing the strawberry from Nino and letting Alya keep petting him, “Feed me.” He ordered, when he couldn’t choose which he’d prefer.

“We treat you too well,” Nino said half an hour later, when they were all sitting sprawled on top of the picnic table and Alya was petting him with one hand and eating with the other, and Nino was feeding him crackers.

“No such thing,” Alya repeated, stealing the last cracker.

It turned out, while Adrien was lavishing in hair pets and crackers, there’d been an Akuma attack near the Seine. The Akuma hadn’t been destructive enough to reach the ears of the College, and Ladybug had handled it quickly and efficiently.

Chat Noir had not shown up.

Adrien felt so horrible and sick to his stomach that he nearly threw up all of the strawberries and crackers he’d eaten.

“I don’t deserve to be petted,” He mumbled dejectedly. Alya was too fired up about missing the Akuma attack to hear him and Nino had his headphones securely in his ears.

He’d wanted to sneak away and transform, leave his Lady a voicemail and maybe meet up with her before lunch ended, but Alya needed someone to vent to and wouldn’t let him out of her sight.

She was so heated Adrien ended up buying her popcorn, he didn’t know _how_ , just that one minute she was ranting about punching Hawkmoth in the face and the next she was ranting with a bag of popcorn in her hands.

Nino said it happened to him all the time and that Adrien shouldn’t lose his mind over it.

Marinette was already in class when they returned from lunch, and she looked terrible. She looked as bad as Adrien felt, and that said something.

Alya was so worried she hit pause on plotting Hawkmoth’s murder and began plotting the murder of whoever did this to her best friend. Adrien found himself glancing back at Marinette all throughout class, it wasn’t like he needed to pay attention to the lesson, the material was so easy he could do it in his sleep.

Adrien finished his homework in class, as per usual, and had enough free time to draw a disgusting attempt at a hand-turkey before the bell rang. He gave it to Marinette in the hopes that his pathetic art skills would make her laugh.

It did. She laughed, then she blushed and choked on air, then she laughed again. Then she turned and ran out of the classroom like she was on fire. Alya rolled her eyes, kissed Nino and followed her out like this was normal.

“Did she like it?” Adrien asked, staring at the empty space where Marinette had been standing. “I couldn’t tell.”

“Dude,” Nino sounded exasperated. “You could punch her in the face and she’d probably thank you.”

“Why would I punch her in the face?” Adrien balked. He considered it for a moment, “Do you think she’d like that?”

Nino blinked, “Seriously. What the fuck.”

“I don’t know! Maybe she’s into BDSM! I don’t know what she likes!” Adrien tugged at his hair, feeling like this was an extinction-level event. He and Marinette were friends, he should know her likes and dislikes.

He was a poor excuse for a friend, just like he was a poor excuse for a partner.

Adrien sunk to the ground right there in the classroom and clung to Nino’s leg, “I am a shitty human being.” He said, for the second time that day. “I need to find out what she likes! I need to be a better person!”

Nino patted his head, “You’re already the best person on the planet, but please, continue.”

Adrien was having a full-blown meltdown in front of Alix and Kim and Madame Bustier. “Why doesn’t Marinette like me? I like her.”

Nino’s mouth flopped open and closed like a fish, “Uh, what?”

“She’s a great friend,” Adrien explained. “I thought that was implied. Am I not friendly enough? Is that why she’s so skittish around me?”

Nino looked like someone was killing him slowly, “Oh my God. Why are you like this?”

“Like what?”

“Oblivious! You’re living in denial land, my dude.”

Adrien ignored Nino’s lips flapping in favor of coming up with a plan that would get him on the fast track to being best friends with Marinette. He should make her a bracelet!

Adrien shot to his feet, fully onboard with the plan and ready to execute it. Nino stumbled and went crashing into a desk, “Not cool.”

“Sorry,” Adrien said. He was vibrating with excitement, “I’m going to need your help.”

“Yeah, me too.” Nino lifted up his shirt, “I think I got a bruise. How the hell did you get up so fast?”

Adrien told him his traditional spiel about exercising and eating right. Nino ignored that in favor of complaining, “I think I need a nurse.”

“No time,” Adrien grabbed his friend’s hand and yanked him towards the door. “I need you to tell me what Marinette’s favorite flowers are.”

Adrien didn’t know how many flowers one friend got another, but he bought two dozen. Nino gaped and muttered for twenty minutes straight about rich people and the injustice of it all.

“Hush,” Adrien said, and bought him a flower too.

Nino was touched, “Bro.”

Adrien also bought him a small bouquet to give to Alya, just because he didn’t want her to feel left out when Marinette got flowers.

“Terrible person my ass,” Nino said, which made Adrien feel slightly better. He debated buying roses for Ladybug, but Nino would no doubt ask who they were for. Adrien could lie and say they were for Nathalie, but he didn’t want Nino to think he was a weirdo who bought his father’s assistant flowers.

He promised to buy her five dozen roses later that night before meeting up with her. He had to start somewhere, and he wouldn’t feel better about things until he’d apologized for flaking on her.

He never got around to it.

Alya called them and invited them over to watch movies. Adrien, for once, didn’t have any prior engagements, so he agreed. He figured Marinette would be there too, which would give him a chance to give her the flowers. He practically skipped the whole way to Alya’s.

Marinette wasn’t there, much to Adrien’s overwhelming disappointment.

Apparently, Marinette’s mother had taken one look at her daughter and deemed her too wrecked and sleep-deprived for social interaction. Alya’s words, since Marinette had called and apologized for bailing on them.

Nino gave Alya her flowers, she said they were lovely and they made out. Adrien built himself a nest of shame out of a bunch of blankets and burrowed there for the rest of the evening. He only poked his head out when Alya suggested they make a fort.

“I want to build castle Byers,” Adrien said, since they were watching Stranger Things and Alya had enough blankets and pillows to build a mini-bomb shelter.

“Sure,” Alya said, “Castle Agreste.”

Adrien was so grateful to have a friend like her, “I love you so much.”

“Same, sunshine. Same.”

Nino flicked gummy bears at them, three landed in Alya’s hair. “Is this a love fest I don’t get to be a part of?”

“Babe,” Alya picked the gummy bears out of her hair and popped them in her mouth. “I love Adrien more than I love you.”

“Yeah,” Nino sighed. “I love him more than I love me, too.”

Adrien made a very manly squealing noise, “Guys!” There was a long, not awkward group hug that lasted ten minutes longer than it should have and looked like a dog pile more than anything else, but Adrien needed some cheering up and this was helping immensely.

They built castle Agreste and watched the entire first season, pausing only to re-stock on snacks and once when Adrien had to use the bathroom. He refused to miss any of the action.

They took a break and did some homework before starting up season two, Adrien completed all of his in thirty minutes and spent the remaining time coaching Alya through physics and Nino through math. Alya had a mini-meltdown when she couldn’t figure out the center of gravity and threw the textbook against the wall. Nino had to give her a massage and Adrien had to feed her Twizzlers until she calmed down.

It was almost midnight when the credits rolled on the last episode of the second season and the gummies were finished.

“You wanna sleep over?” Alya asked.

“Sorry. My dad’s expecting me back,” Adrien kissed her forehead and exchanged a hug with Nino. “See you tomorrow.”

“See you,” Alya waved. Nino looked around and said, “I think I’m gonna stay the night.”

He pulled out his phone, probably to text his mom. “Thanks for the homework help, dude.”

Adrien shrugged on his jacket, “No problem.” He slung his bag over his shoulder, smirking, “Good night, lovebirds. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Nino squawked indignantly. Alya threw a pillow at him, it sailed through the air and hit the wall behind Adrien’s head.

“You missed,” He informed her. She gave a noncommittal groan, sounding half-asleep.

Nino grinned, “Maybe she misjudged the center of gravity.”

“The disrespect,” Alya mumbled into her pillow. “The blatant disrespect. I’m breaking up with you.”

“Nino!” Adrian mock-chided, “You don’t understand the _gravity_ of this situation!”

“Fuck you too, Agreste.” Alya said.

“Alya, my dear friend.” Adrian smiled brightly at her, “I think you need some anti _gravi-tea_ to calm your nerves.”

“Get out of my house,” Alya ordered, trying to look threatening and failing. Adrien laughed and moved towards the door, “I’ll show myself out.”

He’d barely crossed the threshold when Plagg poked his head out of Adrien’s bag where he’d been hiding all night.

“Don’t say it—” Adrien warned.

“I’m starving!” And cue the whining, “Look at me, I’m wasting away! You don’t treat me right! I feel used and abused!”

“Alright, keep your whiskers on.” Adrien said. “You can have as much cheese as you want when we get home.”

“ _Adrien_ ,” Plagg moaned. “I need cheese now! I’m slowly dying inside!”

Adrien gave him an unamused look, “Keep complaining and you’re getting Kraft cheese tonight.”

Plagg’s eyes nearly fell out of his head, “What? This is cruel and unusual torture, how dare you. You’ll go shopping for pigtails but you won’t buy me, your best friend, cheese?”

“You have some at home.”

“I can’t wait that long!”

“Is that complaining I hear?”

Plagg held his tiny hands up in surrender. “Alright! I’ll shut up. Please don’t take away my precious!”

Adrien rolled his eyes, “I should have never let you watch Lord of the Rings.”

The crisp, night air both settled his nerves and made them skyrocket. Adrien searched the empty street, seeing that he was alone, he figured the coast was clear.

“Plagg?”

The kwami groaned, “Now what?”

Adrien pumped his fist in the air, “Claws—”

A car came barreling out of nowhere and nearly ran him over.

“Fuck!” Adrien swore, something he rarely—if ever—did, “What the hell?” He backed up until he was against a lamp post, the offending vehicle skidded to a stop right in front of him. His chauffeur climbed out, face stricken.

“Adrien, kid I’m so sorry—”

“Its fine,” It was _not_ fine. Why was he _here_? “What’re you doing here?”

“Your father sent me to pick you up.”

Obviously. Adrien nearly smacked himself, why else would his bodyguard be here if not to pick him up? It wasn’t like the man had sewing circle or book club to keep him busy, he was around Adrien twenty-four-seven.

Maybe Adrien should buy him knitting needles for his birthday.

“Right. Okay.” Adrien hesitated, he really had to transform and go see his Lady. It’d been two days since he’d seen her last and he missed her laugh and her smile and her eyes. He missed her. He had to contact her, at least. Leave a message telling her he was alive, he didn’t want her to worry.

He also had to apologize, he’d been a no-show today and that was the farthest thing from okay there was. They were partners, he couldn’t be slacking off.

“Are you alright?” The man gestured vaguely, “You’re just…standing there. Staring. What are you staring at?” The man turned, trying to see what Adrien was seeing. Adrien was seeing his Lady swinging across rooftops, the wind in her hair, covering their patrols and battling Akuma. Alone.

She shouldn’t be alone. He had to _apologize_.

He shook away the thoughts, forcing a smile. “I’m fine.” He’d just have to sneak out when he got home, then. If it was too late, he’d leave her a message asking her to meet him tomorrow night.

Except the Gorilla turned on the radio to a soft rock station, which always knocked Adrien out cold. Combined with the breeze coming in through the window, Adrien was asleep before they’d made it a block, head lulling against the glass.

His driver must have carried him in, because he woke up in his bed the next morning. Nathalie was shouting at him through the door, something about peanut-butter rabbits. Or maybe Adrien misheard her. Probably.

It was five-forty-five in the morning. Oh God.

A shower did nothing to wake him up, but he felt less disgusting after going through his usual morning routine. Plagg was eating his weight in camembert, watching disinterestedly as Adrien rushed through getting dressed and put his shirt on backwards.

“Your shirt’s on backwards.”

“Damn it, Plagg!”

“What? It’s not my fault.”

Adrien scarfed down an omelet and was being ushered out the door before he’d even properly tied his laces.

The early morning photoshoot was dreadful, the only thing that got him through it was that the snack table had coffee, and Adrien drank an entire pot by himself. Nathalie told him he had to come back and finish the shoot at lunch, and fencing practice after school would not be canceled despite the fact that he was running on fumes and caffeine.

Adrien got to school and threw himself in Nino’s arms, “Hold me.”

“Sure.” Nino said. “Why?”

“My life sucks.”

“Wow. The filthy rich white guy complaining about how terrible his life is. I feel so bad for you.”

“Nino,” Adrien groaned. “Now I feel bad for feeling bad.”

“That was my goal.”

Adrien shot him a wounded, doe-eyed look.

“Ah man, not the eyes.” Nino huffed, “Fine. I’ll stop being an insensitive jerk.”

“That’s all I ask.”

“Sucks for you, man. I’m sorry your dad’s such a slave driver.”

“He’s not,” Adrien protested half-heartedly. “He’s just…really busy. So he keeps me busy too.”

Nino could not look more unimpressed if he tried, “In what universe does that logic make sense, my man?”

“The one my father lives in.”

They started walking to class, “I wish I could help or something.” Nino’s eyes lit up. “Oh, I’ve got some news that will cheer you up!” He stopped walking, dragging Adrien to a halt. “You know how you left Mari’s flowers at Alya’s last night?”

Adrien immediately perked up, “Yes. Did Alya give them to her?”

Nino nodded, “She said she’d give them to her on the walk to school. I left Alya’s at around seven this morning.”

Adrien was shaking in giddiness and anticipation, “She’ll like them, right?”

“Dude, roses are Mari’s absolute favorite.” _Just like Ladybug_ , Adrien noted idly. “She’ll adore them, maybe almost as much as she adores you.”

Adrien laughed and waved him off, “Nino, Marinette barely says two words to me on a good day. The whole reason I’m doing this is to win her over so she’s more comfortable around me.”

“You have no idea,” Nino muttered under his breath. “C’mon, class is starting.”

Marinette, it turned out, was a really pretty blusher. Her entire face went fire-engine red—in a cute way—the moment Adrien stepped foot in the classroom.

Adrien waved at her and Alya, they both waved back but Alya’s had more energy to it. Adrien frowned, noticing the dark circles badly hidden with concealer, the nots in Marinette’s pigtails, the way her nail polish was chipped.

Adrien knew that look, he’d worn it so many times, a paper-thin mask to hide the cracks underneath. Adrien knew all about wearing masks.

Something was wrong with Marinette.

Adrien felt a surge of protectiveness, no matter what Marinette thought of him, Adrien considered her a really great friend and he would do everything in his power to help her out.

Class ended and he was on her in an instant, offering to carry her bag and walk her to her next class.

“You…me…walk, uh…” Marinette swallowed. “Alya.”

The girl swooped in, arm-in-arm with Nino. “Nino and I are going to make-out in the art room. It’s empty. Bye, Adrien. See you later, girl.”

“Have fun you two!” Nino said cheerily as they made a quick getaway.

“Alya!” Marinette hissed.

“If you don’t want to its fine,” Adrien didn’t want to crowd her and come off as pushy or anything. He just wanted to spend time with her and make sure she was okay, “I just thought you might want some company.”

“Company, yes! Want me. No, I mean, want you! Want your company,” She giggled, but it sounded more tired than anything else. “Let’s go.”

Adrien wasn’t sure, but he wasn’t going to say no. “Okay.” He carried her schoolbag, offering to carry her purse too, but she said it was fine.

They walked in silence for a few minutes. Adrien did what he always did when things were uncomfortable or too quiet.

He made a pun, probably not smart if he wanted to keep his identity safe, but all he really wanted in that moment was to make Marinette laugh.

“Are you feeling _bouquet_?”

Marinette did a double-take, startling. Adrien definitely had her attention now. “What?”

“Okay. Are you feeling okay? You seem a little off, have you been getting enough sleep?”

“Yes, f-fine.” Marinette stuttered, eyes on her shoes. “Just...stress I guess. A lot of work and I’m having trouble juggling it all.”

Adrien nodded sympathetically, he could relate. “If you ever need anything, I’m here for you, alright?”

“Alright,” Marinette squeaked. Then, her back straightened, and she finally looked at Adrien. Her gaze had gone from skittish to shrewd, “Was that a pun?”

Adrien couldn’t help but smile, “Yeah. Did you find it _punny_?”

Marinette looked astonished, “I can’t believe it. Supermodel Adrien Agreste likes puns.”

“Hey,” Adrien pretended to be offended. “Puns are the most sophisticated form of word-play. I am nothing if not creative.”

Marinette snorted, “If you say so.”

Sensing she was warming up to him, Adrien decided to continue. He asked, as casual as he could manage, “So, did you like the flowers?”

“What? Oh, yeah! I love roses. But guess what.”

Adrien cocked his head, “What?”

“I had to run to the store and buy a vase because all of ours were too small, seriously, how big was that bouquet?”

Adrien chuckled, “Big. The biggest size they had.”

Marinette faltered mid-step, “Really?”

“Yeah. I mean, I could’ve gotten a customized bouquet if you wanted more—”

“No! No, the ones you got me are perfect.” She flushed as if embarrassed she’d admitted that, and began playing with her sleeve.

Adrien was having a hard time wrapping his head around her, one minute they were teasing each other and the next she couldn’t stop blushing. Was he being too forward? He flirted outrageously with her when he was Chat Noir, and she seemed to be able to talk to his alter ego just fine.

What was it about Adrien that made her feel like she had to walk on egg shells? Was he too intimidating? He tried not to be. Was it the model thing? Maybe, after all, she said she wanted to work in fashion design and his father was a major icon—

His epiphany came as he was handing her schoolbag back to her. It must be Chloe. He thought back to their first interaction, she’d thought he was like Chloe. And he knew Chloe was mean to her, maybe she was holding back because she felt she couldn’t trust him because he was friends with Chloe.

Of course! No one wanted to be friends with someone who was lifelong friends with their bully. He was such an _idiot_.

But if that was the case, then there was no getting her to warm up to him. Unless he stopped being friends with Chloe.

Adrien felt panic seize him. He had to do something.

“Thanks for walking me, you really didn’t have to—”

Adrien grabbed her shoulders and dropped to his knees right in the middle of the hallway, like a complete and total nutjob.

The hell was he doing? He couldn’t stop himself, the words were rushing out; unfiltered.

“Why don’t you like me?”

Marinette looked ready to faint, “I…what?”

“You never talk to me and when you do it’s all awkward but you have no problem talking to anyone else even Chloe and she’s so horrible to you and I’ve tried to get her to stop and if you don’t like me because I’m friends with her I guess I can tell her I need space because I want to get to know you because you’re awesome but I can’t do that because you won’t say more than a few words to me and that makes me really sad because you’re _amazing_ Marinette and—”

Adrien needed _air_.

“Adrien! Hey, breathe!”

Marinette was cupping his face, talking softly. “Just breathe. Everything’s fine. In and out, like this. Okay?”

“Why don’t you like me?” He gasped out as soon as he stopped seeing stars.

“Adrien, that’s not it at all.” Marinette said, biting her lip hard enough Adrien expected it to bleed. “You’ve got it all wrong. Adrien, I more than like you.”

There was a dead zone as the implications set in, Marinette went chalk white and looked ready to bolt for the nearest exit.

Adrien, on the other hand, was feeling a joy so intense he couldn’t form words. She _liked_ him. She more than liked him, this was _great_.

“I like you too,” Adrien said, and Marinette’s jaw hit the floor. “You…what? Really?”

Adrien nodded enthusiastically, “I do. You’re such an incredible person, Marinette. You’re so nice and thoughtful and compassionate, and I’m so glad that we’re friends.”

All of the emotion drained from her face, like a vacuum had sucked all of the happiness out of her. “…Friends.” She said, her bottom lip trembling.

 _Oh no, backpedal_. There Adrien went again, screwing things up like the idiot he was. “Best friends.” He added quickly, hoping to reverse whatever new damage he’d caused. “I like you a lot, as a friend.”

That was when horrible realization set in.

Oh no.

“You…like me as a friend, right? Because I thought—” He tapered off, grasping for words that would make sense; that would fix this awful mess he’d created.

He remembered Nino’s words. _You’re so oblivious_.

Shit.

“I thought you didn’t like me at all,” Adrien clarified, but Marinette’s eyes were glazed over and it didn’t look like anything was sinking in. “That’s why I got you the flowers, to get you to warm up to me—”

“ _That’s_ why you got me the flowers?” Marinette was backing away suddenly, eyes misting over.

No. He’d made her cry. _No_.

“Of course, of course that’s why you got them for me. Not because—” She sniffed and curled in on herself. “I should’ve known. You’re such a good person, just because you got them for me didn’t mean you liked me.”

“But I do like you,” Adrien reached for her arm. “Can we talk about this? Please?”

“Not today. Not right now, right now I need…space. Okay? Maybe tomorrow, if I feel up to it?”

“Of course,” Adrien agreed. She was giving him a chance to fix things, of course he was going to jump on it. “I…I’m really sorry, Marinette.”

“Me too,” She said, wiping her eyes. Adrien wanted to curl into the fetal position and die right then and there, he was the worst person in the world for making her cry, for hurting her.

She deserved so much better. He didn’t deserve her friendship or her feelings or her endless kindness—

“I’m sorry,” He said again as she was leaving. “I really do like you. A lot.”

She glanced over her shoulder, “Not the way I want you to like me. Not the way I like you.”

She left. In the aftermath Adrien realized the entire hallway had seen what had just happened, and he couldn’t be there for another second. Not while Marinette was crying somewhere with no one to support her.

He fired off an SOS message to Alya. He kept it brief, but told her to check in on Mari ASAP. Nino called him and asked if he needed someone to talk to, Adrien said he just wanted to go home and sleep. Nino said goodbye, promising to take notes for him and check in later whether Adrien wanted him to or not.

Adrien hung up, called Nathalie, and begged her to come pick him up. He gave the excuse that he was sick, which, judging by how much his stomach hurt and his chest ached, wasn’t that far off.

Nathalie called his instructor and cancelled his fencing lesson, but the photoshoot couldn’t be rescheduled. Adrien spent two hours longer than he should have in make-up because his eyes were red and his skin was blotchy.

Adrien got through the shoot solely because of Plagg’s words of encouragement, if it weren’t for him Adrien had a feeling he would’ve had a nervous breakdown on set.

Nathalie, saint that she was, told the photographer to wrap it up early and had Adrien out of there before noon. She asked him if he was hungry, but he told her he wouldn’t be able to stomach anything she fed him. He felt nauseous and dizzy enough that the car ride alone made him want to throw-up.

He got home, tossed his bag on his desk and dived face-first on his bed. Plagg flew out of his shirt, hovering in mid-air.

“You okay?”

“No,” Adrien mumbled into his pillow. “I fucked everything up. She probably hates me now.”

“Not true,” Plagg said. “She said she needed space. That’s different than ‘I never wanna see you again’.”

“I should’ve known!” Adrien wailed dramatically into the duvet, “I should’ve known!”

He could almost feel the sarcasm radiating off of Plagg, “Yeah, I can’t argue with that.”

“Screw you,” Adrien said. “I’m in emotional distress! Comfort me.”

“You’ve got the wrong kwami for that, kid.”

“Which kwami do I need to call to earn some compassion?”

“Hey!” Plagg flicked him with his tail, “I’m doing my best.” There was a pause, “Would cuddling help?”

“What?” Adrien cracked open an eye, could kwami even give proper hugs? Their arms weren’t long enough and their heads were too big.

“Shush,” Plagg said, laying down on Adrien’s cheek. For a split-second Adrien was sure Plagg was going to bite him—

The kwami nuzzled Adrien’s cheek and started purring.

“Oh,” Adrien said in surprise. “ _Oh_.”

It felt great. It was so soothing, it lulled him right to sleep.

He woke up a few hours later, managing to crawl out of bed long enough to get some homework done and hold a half-decent conversation with Nino, before crawling right back in.

“Adrien,” Nathalie called through the door around six. “It’s time to eat. Your father will be joining you.”

Adrien nearly tripped in his mad dash to get to the dining room. Plagg watched him with an air of dry amusement and concern.

“Father,” Adrien greeted as he sat down.

“Adrien,” His father was hitting the Chardonnay again. Lovely.

Adrien definitely needed some tonight.

While he had his father here, maybe he could wheedle some relationship advice out of him. He had married Adrien’s mother, he must have some knowledge.

“Father, could I ask you for some advice?”

“Depends on what.”

“Girls.”

His father spat out his wine, “What? Adrien, I refuse to discuss sex with you at this age, and Nathalie outright refused to do it so—”

“What?” Now it was Adrien who spat out his wine. “No. Not the sex talk, dear God. No.”

Some of the color returned to his father’s face, “What advice do you need, then?”

“There’s this girl from my class, Marinette. You know her, she won that fashion competition a while back.”

“Ah, yes.” His father nodded, “The derby hat girl.”

The fact that he remembered her at all was a miracle, “Yeah. Anyway, I found out today that she…well, let’s just say I found something out, and I accidentally upset her.”

His father pursed his lips, “Did she react negatively?”

“Yes,” Adrien added hastily. “But she wasn’t mean to me, she was just…sad. Really sad.”

“And do you like this girl?”

Why was everyone asking him that? “Yes, I consider her to be one of my best friends.”

“Well then you must apologize.”

Adrien threw his hands up in the air, “She said she needed space! I don’t want to push her.”

“Did she say how long she needed?” His father inquired.

Adrien speared a tomato and aggressively popped it in his mouth, “Yeah. She said she might be willing to talk tomorrow.”

“Then speak to her tomorrow, with a gift, of course. Girls love grand gestures, your mother certainly did.”

Wow. Better advice then he’d expected coming from his father, “What should I get her?”

“Something heartfelt.” His father emptied his wine glass, “She likes fashion, yes?”

Adrien nodded.

“Fashion week in Milan is coming up, invite her.” His father suggested, “I will be presenting and you must come along, there’s no reason I cannot have Nathalie secure a third plane ticket.”

Adrien blinked at his father, questioning if some alien had abducted him and taken his place.

His father blinked back, “It was just an idea.”

Adrien launched himself at his dad, “Thank you père!”

His father nearly fell off his chair, patting his back awkwardly. “It’s no problem, uh, son.”

Supper had left him happy enough to finish all of his homework with a smile on his face, and get to bed early. He had to be up at five again tomorrow for another photoshoot.

He woke up sick. Red-faced, snot running down his nose, sneezing like a dog sick.

Nathalie took one look at him and called the school to say he wasn’t coming in.

Adrien spent the day feeling miserable, watching Les Miserables, and listening to Plagg go on about the great cheeses of the world. He resolved to never let his kwami read a Buzzfeed article again.

His father checked in on him sometime during the day, Adrien was hopped up on Tylenol and feeling floaty.

“Adrien, how are you feeling?”

“Like I’m in an oven,” Adrien booped his father on the nose. “Father, I think a witch is trying to cook me.”

His father told Nathalie not to give him any more pills.

“But his fever,” Nathalie argued.

“But his mental state,” His father shot back.

“But his toes!” Adrien yelled into the fray, unaware that he was speaking in the third person. “His toes are cold! Can someone fix the blanket? You, witch!” He pointed at the corner where Plagg was hiding behind a bookshelf, probably laughing his ass off at him. “Fix the blanket!”

Nathalie murmured a quiet, “No more pills” and fixed the blanket.

Apparently, while Adrien was high on meds and watching old movies and cartoons, an Akuma attack happened. Even if he hadn’t been out of his mind, Plagg wouldn’t have been able to transform him. Transforming while sick was the number one don’t of being a superhero.

The group chat Alya had created for them and named ‘Ot4’ was blowing up with messages from both her and Nino. Marinette was silent.

Adrien, in his half-dazed state, almost called her. Plagg knocked the phone out of his hands and told him to go to sleep before he did something stupid.

“My phone,” Adrien moaned at the loss. “Wilson, why would you leave me?”

Plagg gave him the strangest look, “You are all kinds of weird.”

Adrien was sick for a week, the doctor his father called to come give him a check-up said it was a virus most likely due to exhaustion and stress. Apparently, Adrien was severely overworked for a fourteen-year old.

Adrien could have told him that.

His father cut back his workload and re-designed his schedule. His Chinese lessons were cancelled—Adrien was already better than his teacher—and his fencing lessons went from four times a week to only twice a week. His father also got rid of any early morning photoshoots, saying that his son needed to sleep more in order to stay a healthy, functional human being.

Adrien was _not_ going to complain.

His first day back at school after his week long absence, Adrien remembered that he’d basically ghosted Marinette on the day they were supposed to talk. If she didn’t hate him before, she definitely did now.

“Nino!” Adrien wailed into his best friend’s shirt, “She’s going to be disgusted at the sight of me! What if she slaps me? She should slap me! She has every right!”

Nino patted Adrien’s arm, “Dude, I don’t think you need to worry about that.”

“What if I buy her a car,” Adrien met Nino’s eyes. “Do you think she’d like that?”

Nino gaped, “Mari can’t even drive.”

“I’ll pay for her driving lessons.”

“She’s not old enough.”

“Well then I’ll get her a fake ID and then I’ll pay for her driving lessons!”

“Adrien,” Nino looked like he wanted to smack him. “Chill.”

Alya met them on the steps and said Marinette was running late, as usual. Adrien drooped and Alya gave him a sympathetic look. Taking pity on him, she offered him the croissant she’d bought.

“You need it more than I do,” She said.

Adrien ate the thing whole, then felt bad for eating it. He dragged Alya to a nearby vendor and bought her a box of croissants and a muffin for Nino, because he didn’t want his best friend to feel left out.

Marinette still wasn’t in class when they got there. Chloe took one look at Adrien and pulled out her makeup bag, starting to apply blush to his cheeks.

“You’re flushed,” She said.

“I was sick all week,” He said.

“Exactly. Hush.” She applied some concealer and asked him if he wanted eyeliner while she was at it, he said he didn’t feel like getting his Jack Sparrow on today.

“Voila,” Chloe handed her makeup bag back to Sabrina. She deemed him ‘fabulous as always’ and went back to her seat.

Adrien felt significantly less fabulous and more like an ant not worthy of being crushed underneath Marinette’s shoes.

Marinette did not show up to class.

Adrien turned worriedly to Alya, “Is she okay?” It’d been a week; she wasn’t still crying, was she?

“She was fine when I saw her yesterday,” Alya said, biting her lip. “But something else is bothering her, it’s not just you. She hasn’t been sleeping and she always looks exhausted, and sometimes I hear her talking to herself about missing someone.”

Missing someone? Adrien knew there’d been something off about Marinette last week, had one of her friends moved away or something?

“No,” Alya shot the idea down. “I know all of Mari’s friends, unless she’s got a secret boyfriend and hasn’t told me. In which case, I’m offended.”

“We should go see her,” Nino said. “All of us.”

“Does she even want to see me?” Adrien asked.

“Do you want to see her?” Nino countered.

“Of course—”

“Then we’re going, right after school.”

As the universe hated him, Adrien didn’t get to go see Marinette after school. He’d missed two tests in the week he’d been absent, and had to stay until five to make them up. He was pretty sure he passed them with flying colors, but that wasn’t the point, the point was that his bad luck sucked and not even blaming Plagg for it made him feel better.

Nathalie was in the car when his chauffeur picked him up. That already spelled disaster, because Nathalie never left his father’s side unless there was an asteroid heading towards Earth.

“Is the world ending?” Adrien asked.

“Yes,” Nathalie said. “Your father was at a board meeting today and one of his executives told him something went wrong with the preparations for fashion week. The two of you are getting on the first flight to Milan.”

“What.” Adrien’s head almost hit the roof of the car, “Nathalie, no!”

“Nathalie, yes.” She said dryly. “I know its unfortunate timing but there’s really nothing that can be done. You’re one of the models in your father’s show, you have to be there.”

“But I already missed a week of school!” Adrien protested. “I can’t miss more!”

“I will contact the school and have them email you all of your assignments. I assume your friends can email you the notes.”

“But my friend Marinette’s mad at me!”

Nathalie’s eye-roll was spectacularly unimpressed, “And this is relevant how?”

“She’s one of my best friends!”

“Does she pay for your schooling? Does she put food on the table? Does she pay the bills?”

“This is bullshit!” Adrien said.

“Yes it is,” Nathalie agreed, which really took the wind out of his sails because none of this was truly her fault.

“I’m sorry,” He said. “My father must be losing it.”

Nathalie looked ready to break her clipboard in half, “That is an understatement.”

“You put up with too much,” Adrien said.

“Yes I do,” Nathalie said.

Exactly seven hours later, Adrien and his father were flying first class to Milan. Plagg was in his carry-on, snacking on fifteen packets of cheese.

“I’m sure you’ll get everything back on track,” Adrien reassured his father, who’d flagged down a flight attendant the first chance he got and ordered three bottles of wine. He was currently working his way through the second, Adrien was annoyed that he couldn't sneak any.

“I’m going to kill them all,” His father said.

“I wouldn’t stop you.” Adrien looked out the window, thinking about how much more enjoyable this trip would have been if he’d gotten to invite Marinette along.

“Did you get to apologize to the derby hat girl?”

“No,” Adrien checked his phone. He’d had to turn it off when they’d boarded, but not before he’d asked Nino and Alya to text him updates. They’d still gone to visit Mari, and Adrien wanted to know the outcome. So far, neither of them had messaged him. “Nathalie kidnapped me before I got the chance. And she wasn’t at school today.”

His father snorted and offered him the bottle, “Do you want some?”

Adrien stilled, “Really?”

“No,” He tipped the bottle back and Adrien hit him with his neck pillow.

“This is child abuse,” He said.

His father snorted again, “You should buy me a parenting book for father’s day.”

“I did,” Adrien said. “The year you didn’t leave your office all day.”

His father blinked owlishly at him, “Sounds like something I would do.”

“You were probably drunk.”

“Probably,” His father agreed.

Adrien looked back out the window and sighed, “I hope she doesn’t hate me.”

“How could anyone hate you,” His father sounded aghast. “Only a soulless monster would hate you.”

Adrien arched an eyebrow at him, “Hello, soulless monster.”

“Young people today,” His father muttered angrily into the bottle. “The audacity. The disrespect. I should have left you in the jungle for some wolf pack to find.”

“Mowgli turned out okay,” Adrien said.

“Who’s that?”

Adrien gasped, “How dare you insult my honor like this. You never watched the Jungle Book?”

His father scoffed, “No.” He added, “What honor?”

Adrien gasped again, “The disrespect!”

Fashion week was a complete and utter mess, but at least the show ran smoothly enough that his father didn’t lose all of his hair. Adrien was so busy between fittings and meetings and rehearsing his catwalk that he barely had time to eat and sleep.

Alya and Nino reported in the day after he landed in Milan, saying that their conversation with Mari went okay and that they even slept over at her house. Adrien wished he could’ve been there but hearing that Marinette was okay raised his spirits a little.

Not by much, because Alya messaged him the next day saying that Mayor Bourgeois was holding a grand conference with the Parisian police and Ladybug in attendance.

They were discussing the disappearance of Chat Noir.

Adrien spent the next two days in a walking coma after she told him that.

He was so _stupid_.

He almost pitched himself off the balcony of the seven-star hotel he and his father were staying at, he almost booked a ticket right back to Paris.

He cried for two hours non-stop, Plagg trying his best to comfort him and actually doing a decent job of it.

When Adrien managed to drag himself out of the dark pit he’d dug himself in, he messaged Alya asking her how bad the situation was. Alya messaged him back, clearly in a panic by all the emojis and exclamation points, that there was speculation that Chat Noir was dead as he hadn’t been seen in over two weeks.

Adrien cried some more. His father caught him and took pity, leaving him with a bottle of Chardonnay. Adrien almost finished it.

His pancakes the next morning had a chocolate chip smiley-face on them, he appreciated Nathalie for trying and bought her a watch as a gift for constantly putting up with his shit.

As fashion week dragged on and Adrien flitted on and off the runway, in and out of wardrobe and makeup, the news ran more and more stories on Chat Noir. Nadja Chamack had to stop mid-segment because she burst into tears. Alya posted frantic messages on the Ladyblog asking for any potential glimpses of the superhero. Even Chloe had her father run ads about it in the paper and on television.

All the while Adrien was miles away, stuck sitting behind a television screen. Utterly helpless.

The worst part wasn’t the reaction of the citizens, they made posters and wore shirts with his face on them and Adrien loved them all deeply, but no. The worst part, which made Adrien feel so sick he fainted once while watching, was his Lady’s reaction.

The glimpses he caught of her, she was a mess. The Ladyblog had videos of Ladybug after an Akuma attack, that week he had been sick in bed, turning and trying to fist-bump thin air. Ladybug sitting on the Eiffel Tower, eyes endlessly searching the darkness. Ladybug standing in front of that statue of them in the park, gazing up at Chat Noir and falling to her knees.

Adrien booked a plane ticket to Paris. The only reason he didn’t get on that plane was because Nathalie caught him before he could leave.

By the end of fashion week, Adrien was as much of a mess as his Lady. He didn’t speak to his father at all on the flight back, giving the excuse that he was tired and needed sleep. He closed his eyes but stayed awake.

That was the last time. He was never leaving her side again.

It was late when they touched ground at the airport. Nino and Alya had wanted to wait for his plane to land but Adrien didn’t want them to lose any sleep because of him. He promised to do something with them tomorrow.

As soon as he got home, he said goodnight to his father and Nathalie and shut his bedroom door.

“Plagg!” Adrien un-zipped his carry-on, throwing his luggage carelessly on the floor. “Plagg, did you eat?”

“What do you think?” Plagg said, burping.

“Claws out!” He said, and the magic that washed over him felt so good and familiar Adrien wondered how he had gone so long without transforming.

Never again.

He checked his voicemails, there were over one-hundred of them. Adrien listened to each one and teared up more and more until he was a gross sobbing mess on the floor.

He was the worst partner in the world, he hadn’t meant to pull a vanishing act on her. It’d just _happened_ , he hadn’t even _noticed_.

It was so easy to forget his Lady wasn’t invincible. She was the one who could purify the Akuma, she always bested him when he was pitted against her, he’d come to think of her as unbeatable.

She was strong, but she was exhausted. He’d made her that way, he’d done this to her.

Now, he was going to fix it.

He broke into a flower shop and left two-hundred euros in the register, he knew the roses might not help, but it was step one in a long, arduous plan to gain her forgiveness.

There was a chance she might not show up, it was extremely late, but he left her a voicemail and waited at their usual spot anyway.

Eleven minutes after he left the voicemail, she arrived, horribly out of breath and panting. She must have already been transformed to get here so fast.

He stood up and faced her, and for a long time she didn’t move.

Adrien felt his ears twitch, “Uh…you truly are a _meowvelous_ sight after so long, my Lady.”

She launched herself at him, hugging him fiercely to her chest. Adrien stumbled backwards at the force of it, the roses getting crushed in the process.

“Chaton.”

Oh God, her _voice_. She sounded _wrecked_ , “Bugaboo. I’m so sorry.”

“Where did you go?” She pulled away, but only enough to look him in the eyes. Her chin rested on his chest, “You just…disappeared. You were _gone_. I thought you were dead, I was so worried—”

“I…it’s hard to explain.” But damn it, he was going to try.

“At first I just had a lot on my plate, and I wanted to call you, I did, but there just was never time. Then I missed that Akuma attack and I felt _terrible_ , my Lady. I wanted to see you that night, but someone stopped me. And then the next day, my friend, she was going through something and I got distracted helping her. Which, didn’t really turn out so well since she probably won’t ever speak to me again. I was an idiot and I upset her, and then I got sick and was laid up in bed for a week, and then my father’s assistant kidnapped me and we had to leave the country and I couldn’t do anything about it. Then I watched the news and everyone thought I was dead, but most importantly, you thought I was dead, and there’s nothing I can say or do that will ever express how deeply sorry I am, my Lady.”

He sucked in a deep breath, face red from having talked for so long. He couldn’t look her in the eyes, couldn’t see the hurt and mistrust he knew would be there. Because he _left_ her, he ghosted her without an explanation and left her worrying for weeks—

He truly was an awful person.

Then, something astonishing happened.

She kissed him.

At first, Adrien thought all the talking he’d done had cut the oxygen supply to his brain and he’d passed out. This must be a vivid hallucination or a dream he didn’t ever want to wake up from.

But then one of her ribbons whipped him in the face. Holy hell, this was real.

 _This was real_.

He didn’t know which God had blessed him enough to deserve this, but he wasn’t going to fuck it up like he did everything else.

He kissed her back, he put his heart and soul and all of the love he had into it. He kissed her and didn’t stop until she needed air.

Her lips were swollen and red, “Wow, chaton.”

She needed to breathe, but all he needed was her. He trailed kisses from her neck up to her jaw, around the corners of her mask. Her forehead, her cheeks; every trace of bare skin he could see.

“You’re extraordinary,” He told her. _I want to spend the rest of my life with you_ , he didn’t say, because he didn’t want to scare her.

“I love you,” She said, and his heart exploded and stopped beating all at once.

She seemed shocked that she’d said it. He looked her dead in the eyes, “I have loved you since the day we met.”

“I only realized it when I thought it was too late,” She said. “They were running stories about you every day, then someone started the rumor that you were dead, and I couldn’t take it.”

Adrien held her as tight as he could, “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere unless it’s with you.”

“I think a part of me always knew I loved you,” She admitted, laying her head on his shoulder. “But I was always so stuck on someone else. I knew I didn’t have a chance with them, and I guess I let that fantasy blind me. You were right here, all along. And it took you not being here anymore for me to realize I need you more than anyone else.”

Adrien felt a swell of love so strong and intense he didn’t know how his heart didn’t beat out of his chest, “Everyone else has always paled in comparison to you, my Lady. You’re it for me.”

She smiled, that smile that outshone the stars, and said, “You’re it for me too, Chaton.”

They spent the rest of the night kissing each other senseless, the lights of the Eiffel Tower and the silver glow of the moon mingling together and creating an aura that felt as magical as her laugh.

“So, who was it?” Adrien asked, face buried in the crook of her neck.

“Who?”

“The person you were in love with.”

“Oh,” She played idly with his hair. “Adrien Agreste.”

She said it casually, like it meant nothing, but Adrien almost choked and fell off the tower.

“What?” He sputtered.

His Lady frowned, “Don’t worry about it, chaton. I told you I’m over him, I think it was more of a celebrity crush than anything else.”

Yeah, no, he was definitely worrying. When had he ever had a real, honest to God conversation with Ladybug as a civilian? Maybe once or twice?

Unless her civilian self knew him.

He had to ask, he couldn’t _not_. “Do you know him as a civilian?”

She tensed, but the hand playing with his hair didn’t stop. “Yeah, but I can’t even form coherent sentences when I’m around him. We’re just friends, actually, we might not even be that anymore. I messed it up with my stupid crush. I _cried_ in front of him.” Her face flushed with embarrassment, it reminded him of someone else he knew. “And then I ran away and I haven’t talked to him since then, I don’t even know if he really _wants_ to talk to me. I was so rude.”

Adrien felt something lodge in his chest, could it be that she…no. No, no jumping to conclusions. That was unfair to his Lady.

But the more he thought about what she said, the more it sounded familiar. The more he noticed the resemblance; the messy pigtails, the blue eyes, the same dark hair.

His hunch started feeling less like a hunch and more like the truth. The hope that filled his chest was sickening, because it was too good to be true. Marinette couldn’t be his Lady, he wasn’t lucky enough.

But what if….

He had to be sure, and even if he was wrong, he still loved her. Whoever she was.

“My lady?”

“Yes, chaton?”

“Are you feeling _bouquet_?”

He saw the moment the dangling sword finally fell. Recognition lit up her face.

“Adrien!?”

“Marinette!?”

They both leaped to their feet.

“How, what—”

“I can’t believe this! This is—”

“ _Clawtastic_!” Adrien grinned so wide his jaw hurt, but it was the good kind of pain. “ _Pawsitively furrnominal_! I’m so happy it’s you, Marinette!”

Marinette’s hands shook, “I…really? You’re happy it’s me? You’re not disappointed?”

“How could I be?” Adrien was practically glowing, “You’re kind and brave in and out of the mask. You’re one of a kind, Marinette. And I’m honored to have you as my Lady.” Then he remembered how horrible he’d been to her the last time they’d seen each other at school, “I mean…if you still want me.”

“W-what? Yes! Yes! Absolutely yes!” She tackled him in another hug and he had to kiss her again, just on principle alone. And then he kissed her a few more times, because he loved her more than anyone else.

“I can’t believe it,” She whispered, they were lying shoulder-to-shoulder watching the sun rise.

“What?” He asked, bringing her hand to his lips.

“All this time, I’ve been rejecting Chat Noir because I had a crush on Adrien.”

Adrien burst into laughter.

“Laugh it up, chaton.” She jingled his bell, “I feel like such a blind idiot.”

“If it makes you feel any better,” Adrien said. “If it weren’t for my _catastrophic_ crush on Ladybug, I totally would have fallen for Marinette.”

“We’re both idiots.”

“Yup.”

She sighed and snuggled closer, “Alya and Nino are going to mock us forever when we tell them about this one day.”

“Oh, absolutely.”

He was ready when that day came, as long as he was with her.


End file.
